“I’ll Kick the Door In or Drive a Bulldozer”: Tony Stewart on How He “Roughed Up” Rival Denny Hamlin in Landmark NASCAR Victory

Former NASCAR driver Tony Stewart is pretty much a legend in the sport. The former Joe Gibbs Racing driver has three Cup Series championships along with 49 wins to his name. His last win came at the Toyota Save Mart 350 at the Sonoma Raceway in 2016. It was during that race that he edged out former teammate and good friend, Denny Hamlin, for the win.

When asked about his final win, he was reported by Dragzine as saying, “I couldn’t believe he missed the corner. I was shocked that the door was open like that. You can’t crack the door open with me on the last corner of the last lap and expect me to not take it. I’ll kick the door in or drive a bulldozer through it to keep it open. When you’re in a scenario like that, I don’t know if I’m going to get another opportunity to win another race the rest of the year.”

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What else did Tony Stewart say about his win over Denny Hamlin?

In essence, Hamlin only had himself to blame for losing out on the win. Needless to say, Stewart was not going to decline the open invitation and pounced on the opening immediately. The 3-time champion knew that he would most likely not get another chance to race for a win. So when he saw an opportunity, he grabbed it with both hands.

Stewart continued, “Knowing that that could be the difference between making the Chase or not making the Chase, I wasn’t going to be cordial in the exit of the corner, and I roughed him up pretty good. If it had been a street fight, he’d have had two black eyes after that. I used him up pretty hard.”

Of course, this desperation set in because he was hunting for a Playoff berth, then called “The Chase.” Owing to that, Tony Stewart was not going to play nice in the race. After all, on the track, while clocking incredible speeds and performing maneuvers past other cars, friendship must seem like a far-fetched possibility.

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